travel bandits
by smallfang
Summary: what happened to Greystripe after the twolegs took him away? will he ever see his clan again? can starclan help him from so far away? who is spider? find out here! my first fanfiction... R&R : also i have not read sunset yet.. so no spoilers for that!
1. Chapter 1

It's a wet sort of sticky, the kind of suffocating warm-wet that comes from too many cats in an enclosed area breathing all at once. Greystrip groaned in his sleep, and then rolled over. "I wonder what kind of fresh kill they'll bring us today?" he said sarcastically to himself without opening his eyes. He heard the door to the two-leg nest open and shut with a clang and then the sharp sounds of cat food pellets scraping inside a big plastic container.

"Here, kitty kitty kitty!" said the two leg in a high pitched voice. She said it again really making her voice high on the last part. This always amused greystripe because it almost sounded like a real noise... a cat noise. He raised his head and opened his eyes when he heard the door of his little nest being tugged at. He lifted his tail in acknowledgement to the two leg with out thought or effort. He had been trapped here so long he didn't even care if the other cats trapped here saw him, a warrior, greet a two-leg.

It made some unintelligent babble then filled up his bowl with those hard little tasteless pellets and put in a fresh bowl of water. "By star-clan I hate it here!" he thought gloomily as he sat up in huff. The two leg locked up his little cage nest and went on to the next one where he heard a nasty hiss directed at the two-leg.

"mmmm looks like fish flavor!" said a voice in the cage on the other side of him. "And water from the finest garden hose!" there was a glint of sarcasm in the remark but it was good natured and made greystripe purr unexpectedly. "Oh yes," he said suddenly playful, "mine is mouse flavored, and ….I can't quiet put my paw on it….. wait..i think it… yes… its squirrel! Yes we have squirrel in the den!!" he lifted his tail high in mock excitement.

"Awwww, I just got tuna and toads.." said spider, the voice in the cage next to him. She was a short haired young cat with black fur everywhere except for a small white patch on her nose. She blinked at Greystrip who blinked back.

Greystripe had made friends with spider the instant he was hauled off the twolegs monster and hoisted up into the nest where he was now held prisoner. She was care free and happy, and actually made him laugh, which was hard to do in a place like this. He could tell that she hated it here just as much as he did, but she never had unkind words for him or any other cat on their side of the enclosure, however she did glare at her cage-nest door a lot..

Other then being held against his will, it wasn't as horrifying as Greystripe thought it would be inside a two-leg nest. He was never thirsty or hungry, and the two-legs never bit him or clawed at him. The worst part was the endless boredom. How long had he been here, he wondered…at least a half moon?

He drank some water out of boredom and stared out of the nest-cage at the other cats across the room from him. He saw one that was as white as cloudtail and he thought about his clan. Had they all made it out okay, had they found a new home? Will I ever see them again? His heart sunk at that last thought and in a rare moment of complete despair he moaned out, "will I ever get out of here?"

Spider stuck her black paw through a space in cage-nest. "Of course you will," she said softly, "Cause when I bust outta here there aint no way im leaving without you". When he looked her in the eye he couldn't tell if she was trying to comfort him or herself.

He suddenly felt self conscious and he licked his paw to start grooming behind his ears. She batted at his tail until he was cajoled into playing a game of "got your paw" though the cage-nest.

The door to the two-leg nest clanged shut and the two leg, having finished feeding all the cats, was gone, leaving the cats with nothing but each other for comfort


	2. Chapter 2

**Thankyou for the reviews… yes, I've never won a spelling bee. Thank starclan for spell check, but as always there will be minor mistakes :( Anyways, thought id switch up the POV a bit and at the same time give you a little history on who spider is. It's a little slow moving but you'll get to see what an old friend has been up to…**

"Spider?……spider, where are you?"

spider watched her human from the tall grass. She was a limber woman, with hair the color of ash wood. Spider loved her. Her human had the gentlest, warmest and most nurturing paws spider had ever been held in. her paws could take dying plants and transform them into lively forests that spider, as a kit, would play in for half a day. And only her paws could find those special spots to scratch on her back or behind her ears.

Today was a beautiful day out on the farm and spider was practicing her newest stalking moves. Spider watched her walk with her slight limp towards the rickety fence in the back yard and peer into the fields beyond.

"spider?..."

Spider wasn't concerned that her human walked with a limp, she always walked that way. Every time someone pointed to it, she heard the same word spoken: 'motorcycle'. From what spider could tell, it was something that happened a very long time ago, before she was ever born.

Spider knew a paw full of human words; she had a knack for noticing patterns in their babble. However she didn't have time to learn words as quickly as she used too. She wasn't home often enough during the day because half a moon ago she was_ officially_ no longer a kit. The reason was because that was the day she met a cat named Ravenpaw. She followed him around for half the day, until she got him to say these words:

"On this day you are no longer a kit…but my apprentice."

It took a lot of paw soaring work to get him to do it, but she could tell he really wanted to teach some of the cool things he knew how to do (even if for some reason he was reluctant) and she figured she was as good a cat as any to be taught.

She knew Ravenpaw wouldn't give her any praise for being able to sneak up on her human; he thought all humans where mouse-brained. But she was feeling playful and really wanted to practice.

"I'm up wind, but if I stalk her like a rabbit I think I have the best chance, considering 'two-legs' can't smell worth a cricket!" spider thought to herself then quickly padded out of her hiding spot while keeping her paw steps quiet. When she was right behind her human, spider looked up at her human and she let out a loud _purrow_ of amusement.

"I did it!" she meowed triumphantly at the same instant she pounced on her humans' hind leg.

"I caught you!!" she announced proudly and ran to the back porch, tail held high and feeling pleased with herself.

"Oh, spider, You little monster, you!" said spiders' human laughing "lets have dinner now."

"Dinner?" that was a word spider had already learned! She ran back to her slower walking human and then race back to the back door again. Ravenpaw had worked her hard today, and she was famished.

After a very satisfying dinner she curled up on her bed thinking to herself about her long day. Spider didn't know how to explain it but ever since Ravenpaw had decided to mentor her, she somehow felt complete. As if she was doing what she was meant to do. The only thing that didn't work for her was that Ravenpaw was now calling her 'Spiderpaw'… yuck.

"Oh well, success always has its price." She thought with a sigh, "besides, its not like anyone else has to know I'm supposed to be 'Spider-_paw,_ at least not now." with those last fading thoughts she drifted off into a sleep filled with dreams of hunting, running, and the joy of her new and exciting life.

**So what did you think? Please review its so nice to get feed back. I think next chapter will bring us back to the present where Spider and Greystripe have their own little jail break! Then they can start doing the whole traveling bit. (Like the title suggests?) **


	3. Chapter 3 i never left you

Greystripe opened his eyes and looked into the darkness outside his cage-nest at the cats across the room from him. They were all curled up and dreaming…there was a soft snoring sound coming from somewhere; probably from potato the brown tabby above him, but that was not what woke him up. He opened his mouth and held his nose high trying to get a scent but the overpowering smell of all the cats around him drowned his senses. He tried again and caught the faintest whiff of someone familiar.

Greystripes ears snapped up and his eyes looked to the darkened door way where the door was standing mysteriously ajar. He inched to the edge of his nest-cage so he see the floor and that was were she stood, searching the room with her gaze and sniffing the air around her. He stood up in full attention and their eyes locked as she noticed him. She stood there for a moment looking at him the way a magnet might stare at a large chunk of metal, and then she turned around and slowly walked out.

NO! Greystripe Thought as he sprung from his cage-nest without any resistance. He landed on the floor light as a feather and dashed after her madly.

"Wait!" he called after her desperately, "wait for me, I'm coming!" He saw flashes of her fur weaving around hallways and past doorways. He dodged a branch that was in his way and was dimly aware that he was no longer in the twoleg nest or even near it but rather far away under the familiar stars of his youth.

He came to a clearing and few fox lengths to his right he saw her sitting with her tail neatly tucked over her paws. She was gazing out toward the mountains. He ran to her with a joy in his heart so huge he thought he would fall over trying to get to her. She sat with her eyes fixed on the mountains and she spoke to him with out breaking her gaze.

"You are going to need help to get there Greystripe…" she then turned slowly to meet his gaze. A gush of wind rushed at him suddenly ruffling his long fur and making her whiskers dance in the moonlight "but first, there are cats here who need you." she looked at him with eyes soft and knowing.

"Silverstream…" he stammered not knowing what to say to the cat he had loved so much... to the mother of his kits…and the queen of his heart.

She made a face at him as if she suddenly couldn't hold back how much she missed him." you don't have to worry about this now, it can wait till tomorrow", she said as she walking forwards and wrapping him in silver fur and soft purrs.

He buried himself in her embrace and with a lump in his throat he meowed out "Take me with you Silverstream, I have nothing left! I lost my clan! I lost feathertail! I lost you!! I've lost everything!"

Silverstream looked at him and when he met her gaze she said firmly but kindly, "I have never left you Greystripe", she licked the top of his head affectionately. "when your heart breaks, its supposed to break wide open, so that when it heals, it will always be bigger…that way, there will always be room for more love" She blinked at him reassuringly then she repeated ".. There are cats here that need you". He looked around to see if there where any cats, but all he saw where the moors of the windclan territory. He looked harder and realized that this was how the windclans territory looked before the two legs came.

"Be brave Greystripe, and remember its okay to be happy" said silver streams fading voice. Greystripe wrenched his gaze back where she had just been standing a moment ago and not seeing her, looked up at the stars above him "Silverstream" he said softly to himself. He sat there with his lonely gaze fixed on the night sky for what seemed like moments or possibly hours. suddenly the ground began to tremble.

He yowled in surprise and ran as fast as he could to a tree that had suddenly appeared. Dark massive shapes like pointed teeth began to rise up out of the ground. Higher and higher until Greystripe recognized them to be twoleg nests right in the middle of windclan territory.

From his tree he could see the mountains silver stream was gazing at but when he looked down below him he spotted a snarling golden dog. Feeling his tail fluff out, he hissed out a threat. The dog began barking wildly.

Greystripe snarled his lips back and flattened his ears menacingly hoping to detour the dog from getting any closer. The golden dog rear back on it haunches preparing to jump at him. It was at that moment he saw a blinding flash of white then the loudest crack of thunder burst through his ears, followed directly by the feeling of falling.


End file.
